Door-opening device.



BATENTED APR. 2, 1907. 0. M. EDWARDS.

DOOR OPENING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 9. 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

OZiI/QrMEdwardg nventor 6 GKMQ Aliy- EETS-SHEET 2. i 2 y, ml"! F IIIIII PATENTED APR. 2, 1907.

l llllm [IIIII l O. M. EDWARDS.

DOOR OPENING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 9, 1904.

Kill" lflllll Wiznessesk I I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OLIVER M. EDWARDS, OF 'sYRAbUsE, NEW YoRK.

DOOR-OPENING; DEVICE;

useful Improvements in Door-Opening Devices, of which the followingis a full, clear,

and exact description, reference being had to the drawings accompanying and forming a part of the same. Y

My invention relates generally toimprovements, in the class of devices to which those set forth in Patent N 6. 748,178, dated December 29, 1903, belong; and it has for its objects generally to provide a device or devices adapted to occupy a less space, to have a less number of parts than heretofore, and in some forms to give the door a percussive blow, and also to provide a device which is better adapted to withstand the hard usage to whichsuch devices are necessarily subj ected in use; and it consists in the combinations of parts or devices hereinafter set forth, and particularly pointed out 1n the claims,

.which form a part of this specification. I have shown in the drawings different em-,

bodiments of my invention; but it is to be understood that the invention may take on other forms or embodiments than those shown. Like letters of reference wherever they occur indicate corresponding parts in the several' figures of the drawings.

Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion of acarplatform and a trap-door, having one form of my improvement applied thereto, including my improved locking means, the vestibuleinclosing the same being in section, as seen. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the trapdoor and two steps of a car, over which the door forms a continuing portion of the platform or flooring on which passengers may tread as on other portions of the platform. This door may be turned upward y into nearly avertical position, as indicated by short dotted lines. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view, on an enlarged scale, of that portion of the platform and door to which. my improvement may be applied on line 3. 3 of Fig.1, the working parts being shown 111 full lmes 1n their normal positions and ready to be actuated and in dotted lines when fully actuated ready for the door to be moved into nearly a verti-.

Specification of Letters Patent.

V Application filed April 9, 1904. Serial Il o. 202,824.

Patented April 2, 1907.

means seen in Fig. may be actuated se arately from the means which aid in partieilly opening the door. Fig; 5 is a vertlcal sectional view of a latform and trap-door where the improved ocking means are mounted on the platform instead of on the door, and I such means are differently actuated. than is the case in Figs. 1 to 4. Figs. 5* and 5 show details of what is seen in Fig. 5. Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional View of a construction somewhat different from that seen in Fig. 5,

by which the locking means may be actuated and the 'door partially opened. Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view of a construction somewhat modified from that seen in Figs. 3 and 4. Fig. 8 shows in plan-view, on somewhat enlarged soale and separated from the other parts, the locking-detent and actuating-lever seen in Fig. 4. Fig. 9 shows in side elevation this same locking-detent and actuating-lever separated, as in Fig. 8,'which detent and lever are seen in full lines in the po-.- sitions they occupy when the trap-door-is closed andlocked and in the dotted lines when such door is unlocked and ready to be opened by the use of such actuating-lever.

In Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive, A represents the ,platform, B the platform tra -door, covering the steps 0 of the car when 0 osed, and which is opened by movin it into nearly vertical posltion, as indicate in short dotted lines at the left of Fig. 2. This platform and trapdoor may be inclosed by any suitable means, and they may then form the floor of a vestibule' of the car, if desired, as is well known. .Inclosing walls A 'areshown in section in Fig. 1, by which a vestibule is formed, the door A? giving access thereto. This trapdoor B may be connected with or hinged to the platform or car in any desired way and by any desired means, and, as shown, it is hinged, as seen at the left of Figs. 1 and 2, to a portion of the car by hinges b and b; As here seen, a particular form of hinged connection is em loyed; but, if other form of hinges -may be used for this purpose. Any suitable meansmay be .employed to support the trap-door when in the closed'position, a bar a being shown herein for this purpose, which is attached to the platform in any suitable manner.

desired, any

Means to aid in opening the trap-door, consisting of springs, &c., which counterbalance the weight of the door, more or less, or which may, if desired, open the door after itis re-' leased or partially opened, and whose-force form and trap-door of a car.

such locking-detent were not present.

has to be overcome or neutralized when the door is closed, may be employed.

D indicates my improvement in one form as the same is here shown applied to a plat As thus shown there is a locking-detent d, which is ivotally mounted on the trap-door, a movabl d part E, which is provided with a portion 6, adapted to engage with locking-detent d as part E is moved upward, and another portion e, which is adapted to engage with the under ortions of the. part b attached to the door and in which detent d is pivotally mounted by pivot (Z as in Fig. 3. As here shown, the part E is loosely mounted on the latform and it moves bodily in substantiaiiy right lines, and all portions move to substantially the same extent, and it is adapted to be moved quickly and strike a percussive blow of considerable extent as the portion 6 strikes the part b attached to the door B, and thus cause the door to be jarred loose when stuck in its closed position, as such doors many times stick when used in platforms of cars, as is well known. Of course the percussive force of the blow struck by the movable part E is dependent upon the speed with which it is actuated and the weight of such movable part. As this movable part E is readily moved by hand back and forth with considerable speed, repeated blows can be struck. by such part in quick succession, and

hence if the first blow does not release and,

partially 0 en the door others can be caused to be struc r without much if any delay. If the door is not stuck or bound, it is only necessary to move the movable part E upwardly with a comparatively slow and steady motion to release the door from the locking action of the locking-detent (Z and partially open it, so that it. may be fully opened by hand or other means, as desired. The ortion 6 of movable part E engages with the locking-detent d before the portion c engages with the part b and hence whenever a percussive blow is struck against the door the locking-detent d is out of locking position, and the door, so far as the detent d is concerned, is free to be opened the same as if This form of movable part E may be employed, if

desired, without the locking-detent being present.

A suitable handhold, as F, is connected with the movable part E by a rod, as shown, or otherwise, by which such part is readily operated, and forms operating means for such part by which it may be actuated whenever the trap-door-is to be opened. If desired, a suitable handhold F may be added by which the movable part E may be actuated from underneath the car and give access thereto from this position--as, for instance, to employees, who can enter between the steps and vestibule-door when the trapdoor -or opposite side of such line.

has been unlocked and opened. Any desired means may be employed by which such movable part E may be actuated, and such means will be arranged'as desired to give ready access thereto by the person or per sons who are to open the trap-doors.

The locking-detent is preferably yi'eldingly held in the locking position by a springas, for instance, 61 Fig. 3and the movement of such detent into the locking position may be limited by any suitable means-as by projection (i for instancewhich is attached thereto and abuts against the under side of the door or a piece attached thereto.

The locking-detent d, as shown in Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive, is pivotally mounted on the door with its pivot d on one side of the dotted line as, Fig. 3, and with its portion which engages with the platform A on the other These two portions are also arranged near to or adjacent to such line, so that when the door is closing quickly the .locking detent is moved out of locking position with an easy movement, owing to the position its engaging or looking portion bears to the pivot 61, on which such detent turns, there being substantially no friction to retard or interfere with the backward movement of suchdetent, as would be the case if such detent was pressed against a fixed surface at or near the point where the detent is struck in the act of closing the trapdooras, for instance, when beveled sliding bolts or detents are employed. These platform trap-doors are many times closed very quickly, so that they may acquire sufficient momentum. to fully close, when such doors bind in the openings of the platform and the locking-detents become fully engaged or in their locking positions to securely lock such doors in the closed position. Again, sometimes when the trap-door does not fully close or the person closing the same is not sure that it is securely locked he 'will jump upon the door to force it into the fullyclosed position, and if the locking-detent is frictionally held against backward movement it is liable to become damaged and rendered unfit for use. With the forms of pivoted locking-detents herein shown the force exerted in holding the door locked is substantially in line with the length of that portion between the pivot and the engaging end of the detent, and hence there is substantially no side friction on the detent and comparatively little, if any, friction on its pivot as the detent moves backward out of the locking position to permit the door to close, whether such door moves quickly or slowly. Also a line drawn through the 12 5 strain in holding the door closed. is substan- I30 are which are shown in the drawings herein, are

less liable to give trouble to the users and are more durable and satisfactory than those susceptible to sidewise friction, as before explained.

At times it may be desirable to open the trap-door without the use of the movable part, as E, Fig. 3, and to provide for this actuating means, .as Gr, Figs. 4, 7, and 8, may be employed, if desired, the locking-detent (1* being provided with projections s 8, arranged substantially parallel withthe pivot by which such detent is pivotallymounted on the door. This locking-detent d is otherwise the same as the locking detent d. (Seen in Fig. 3.) The movable part E of Fig. 4 and also the part E of preceding figures is preferably mounted so as to move in right lines back and forth; but these parts may be otherwise mounted, if desired, and yet be capable of striking the door a percussive blow, as is done when mounted as here shown. The movable part E and operating means for such part, as shown in this Fig. .4, are substantially the same in construction as the corresponding parts seen in Fig. 3.

The actuating means G consist of the pivoted lever g and projections s s. The lever g, as seen in Fig. 8, is pivotally mounted on the door in position for its lowermost portions, as seen in Fig. 9, to enga e with the projections s s and move the locking-detent d from the position seen in full lines in Fig. 9 to the position seen in dotted lines, when the door is released from the locking action of such detent and the door is ready to be opened. This lever g is normally in the position seen in full lines in Figs. 4 and 9that v is, with its upper surface preferably flush with the upper surface of the trap-doorand a recess, as g, is preferably made in the door of any suitable dimensions to ermit of such lever being readily raised by t 1e hand of the personwho desires to open such door.

If desired, the pivot and the engaging portion or end of the locking-detent may both be arranged near to or adjacent to a line described by the edge of the door as itmoves in opening and closing, but with both on one side of such line, as shown in Fig. 7, instead of on opposite sides, as seen in preceding figures.

As here seen, the locking-detent d is pivotally attached td the platform A at d, and instead of there being a compressing action upon the detent in holding the door closed,

the portion 6 strikes directly against the.

under side of the door B as such part is quickly moved upward by the operating means F or F, as desired. The locking-detent al is provided with a pin or projection (1 (seen in dotted lines in Fig. 7,) which extends rearwardly from detent d so as to engage with the portion 3 formed on movable part E This portion 6 is on the opposite edge of the part E from what is the case in preceding figures, such part E being suitably mounted and guided to permit of-this construction. 3

Instead of the movable part being constructed and mounted as'in the preceding figures it may be constructed and mounted as seen in Figs. 5, 5 and 5 As here seen, the movable part is pivotally attached to the platform, and instead of being in a single piece it is in two pieces of material, and it is not adapted to strike a percussive blow on the door, as is struck in the construction seen in preceding figures. This movable part E as two parts or pieces h h, each of which is pivotally mounted on stud H, which is in turn attached to the platform A The part or piece it of this movable part E can move independently of the piece It until the space at t is closed up, when the two pieces h and h move as one piece would move by reason of that portion of the piece It adjacent to the point t abutting against that portion of the the extent seen in dotted lines in Fig. 5, when the piece it abuts against the piece it at the point t and the door is freed from the locking action of such detent. Upon continuing the downward movement of the plunger f the two pieces h and it move as one piece and'the portion 6 of this movable part E engages with the under side of the door or a piece attached thereto and forces the door in the o ening direction for a short distance until t e downward movement of the plunger is arrested. v

The. operating means F, as shown, areintended to be operated by the foot of the person desiring to open door B but may be operated in any desired wayas, for instance,

neath, as by means. F or otherwise.

Instead of constructing the movable ,part,

as E in two pieces, as shown in Figs. 5, 5

.' against such door to partially open it, as is by the stud H. the form of a lever, one portion 6 or end of apparent from an inspection of the two constructions seen in Figs. 5 and 6.

In Fi 6 the pivotally-mounted lockingdetent 9 is attached to the platform A, as in Fig. 5, as is also the movable part E, which is pivotally'attached to the platform This movable part 1L is in which is arranged to engage with the under side of the door Bf, theother end of such leoperable.

ver connecting with the plungerf of operating means F, as seen. This movable part or lever E has a portion e ,-which is adapted to engage with the under side of the tailpiece t of locking-detent d and moves such tailpiece and locking detent or dog from the position. seen in full lines in Fig. 6 to that seen in dotted lines upon the downward movement of the plunger f of the operatingmeans F to the extent shown. This movable part E may be actuated by the means 'as shown in Fig. 6, or it may be, desired, otherwise I have herein shown different forms or embodiments of my invention and which are the preferable forms as now known to me; but I do not wish to limit the invention to theseparticular forms, because these will naturally suggest to those skilled in the art to which this invention relates other forms or embodiments which will have the same mode of operation as is herein set forth. Therefore I desire to include all those forms or embodiments that contain the spirit or gist of my invention.

What I claim as new is 1. In a door-opening device the combina tion, substantially as set forth, of a pivotally mounted locking-detent arranged with its pivot and engaging portion both near to a line described by the edge of the door in .openingand closing, a movable part, a por' tion of-which is adapted to engage with the locking-detent arid actuate it in one direction and another portion is adapted to engage with the door to partially open the same, and

operating means adapted to actuate such part, whereby the door is released from the locking-detent and partially opened'by actuating the o crating means.

2. In a cor-opening device the combinavportion in a line, which,

tuse angle, -a.movab le part, a portion of which is adapted to engage with the locking detent and actuate it in one direction and another portion is adapted to engage with the door to partially open the same, and operating means adapted to actuate such part, whereby the door is, released-from the locking-detent and partially opened by actuating the operating means.

3. In a door-operating device the combination, substantially as set forth, of a pivotallymounted locking-detent arranged with its pivot adjacent to the line described by the edge of the door in opening andclosing, a movable part, aportion of which is adapted to engage with the locking-detent and actuate it in one direction and another portion adapted to engage the door -to partially open the same, and operating means adapted to actuate such part, whereby the door is re' leased from the locking-detent and partially opened by actuating the operating means.

4. In a door-opening device the combination, substantially as set forth, of a movable part loosely mounted adjacent tothe door and adapted to strike the door a percussive blow, and operating means connected with such part and adapted to move the same quickly in onedirection and partially open the door.

5. In a door-opening device the combina tion, substantially as set forth, of a movable part loosely mounted adjacent to the door,

all parts of which are movable to substan- K tially the same extent, and adapted to strike the door a percussive blow, and operatingmeans connected with such part and adapted to move the same quickly in one direction and partially open the door.

6. In a door-opening device the combination, substantially as set forth, of a movable part loosely mounted adjacent to the door and adapted to strike the door a percussive blow, and operatingmeans connected directly to and movable with such part and adapted to move the same quickly in one direction and partially open the door. 7

7. In a door-opening device the combination, substantially as set-forth of a movable locking-detent, a part loosely mounted and bodily movable, adapted-by its weight to strike the door a percussive blow, a portion of which is adapted to engage with the locking detent and actuate it in one direction and another portion adapted to engage with the door and deliverla blow thereon to partially open the same, and operating means adapted to actuate such part, whereby the door isreleased from the locking-detent and partially opened by actuating the operating means.

8. I'n-a door-opening device the combination, substantially as set forth, of a pivotallymounted locking detent, a part loosely mounted and bodily movable, adapted by its weight to strike the door a percussive blow, a portion of which is adapted to engage IIC , the door and deliver a blow thereon to partially open the same, and operating means adapted to actuate such part, whereby the door is released from the locking-detent and partially opened by actuating the operating means. p

9. In a door-opening device the combination, substantially as set forth, of a pivotallymounted' locking-detent mounted on 'the platform and adapted to engage with the door, a movable part, a portion of which is adapted to engage with the looking-detent and actuate it in one direction and another portion adapted to engage the door to partially open the same, and operating means adapted to actuate such part, whereby the door is released from the loclcin -detent and partially opened by actuating t e operating means. v

10. In a door-opening device the combination, substantially as set forth, of a movable locking-detent, a part movable in substantially right lines, a portion of which is adapted to engage with the locking-detent and actuate it in one direction and another portion adapted to engage with the door and deliver a percussive blow thereon to partially open the same, and operating means adapted to actuate such part, whereby the door is released from the locking-detent and partially opened by actuating the operating means.

11. In a door-opening device the combination, substantially as set forth, of a movable locking-detent, a part movable in substantially right lines, a portion of which is adapted to engage with the locking-detent and actuate it in one direction and another portion adapted to engage with the door to partially open the same, and operating means adapted to actuate such part, whereby the door is released from the locking-detent and partially opened by actuating the operating means.

12. In a door-opening device the combination, substantially as set forth, of a pivotallymounted locking-detent arranged with its pivot on one side of the'line described by the edge of the door in opening and closing and its engaging portion on the other side of such line, a movable part, a portion of which is adapted to engage with the locking-detent and actuate it in one direction and another portion adapted to engage the door to partially open the same, and operating means adapted to actuate such art, whereby'thedoor is released from the ockin -detent and partially opened by actuating t e operating means.

13; Ina door-opening device the combination, substantiallyas set forth, of a movable locking detent actuating means therefor mounted upon the door, a movable part mounted on the platform, a portion of which is adapted to engage with the lockingdetent and actuate it in one direction and another portion adapted to engage with the door to partially open the same, and operatmg means adapted to actuate such part,-

to engage with the locking-detent and actuate it independently of its actuating means and another portion adapted to en age the door to partially open the same, an operating means adapted to actuate such ing means and it is partially opened by actuating the operating means. i

art whereby the door is released from the 00k ing-detent by either the actuating or operat- 15. In a door-opening device the combination, substantially as set forth, of a pivotallymounted locking-detent arranged with its pivot and engagin portion in a line, which, with the plane of the trap-door, forms an obtuse angle, and operating means engageable with the detent in only one direction of movement and adapted to actuate such detent when moving in that direction.

1.6. In a door-opening device the combination, substantially as set forth, of a locking detent pivotally mounted on the door, andoperating means adapted to en age with the detent and actuate it .in one irection and permit such detent to be actuated by other means in the same direction without disturbing such operating means.

17 In a door-opening device the combination, substantially as set forth, of a lockingdetent pivotally mountedon the door, means adapted to actuate such detent also mounted on the door, and operating means mounted on the structure adapted to actuate such detent and release the door.

18. In a door-opening device the combination, substantially as set forth, of a lockingdetent pivotally mounted in position to hold the door closed and to release the same, and operating means of different kinds, each a apted to engage with such detent and a move it in one dlrection and one of which means is mounted separately from the door.

19. In a door-opening device the combination, substantially asset forth, of a lockingdetent pivotally mounted in position to hold the door closed and to release the same, and difl'erently acting operating means, one adapted to move such detent in one direction and the other to move it in the other direction, the detent and operating means being mounted separately from the door. 20. In a door-opening device the combination, substantially as set forth, of a lockingd'etent pivotally mounted in-position to hold different operating means, each of which is the door closed and to release the same, and adapted to engage with such detent indedifferent operating means; each of which is pendently of the other ;to actuate it and readapted to engage with such detent indelease the door, and each is also adapted to re- 5 pendently of the other to actuate it and remain immovable upon the operation of the 15 lease the door from its holding action. other. 21. In a door-opening'device the combina- OLIVER M. EDWARDS.

detent pivotally mounted in position to hold FRANCES E. GARVIN,

tion, substantially as set forth, of a locking- Witnesses: [o the door closed and to release the same, and l GEORGE G. NORRIS. 

